Maps of Music

I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Star) (1973)

Where the lyrics of I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Star) take you, and where it was really made.

The album reached only number 154 on Billboard's Album chart and stayed there for six weeks.

Key places

Recorded at Hollywood Sound Recorders (1973)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — The album was recorded at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. The point is placed at the city centre, not at the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Star): studio album by Glen Campbell
• Released in 1973 as his 24th album
• Ten tracks, five per side
• Mix of songs written by other writers, including Bob Dylan and John Newton
• Recorded at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California
• Produced by Jimmy Bowen

Background

• Glen Campbell is an American singer and guitarist
• The album came out in 1973, during his long run of studio records
• It entered Billboard's Album chart in June 1973

Recording

• Producer: Jimmy Bowen
• Arranger: Dennis McCarthy
• Engineer: John Guess
• Studio: Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
• Campbell sings and plays acoustic and electric guitars, and also plays bagpipes
• James Burton on electric guitar
• Carol Kaye on bass guitar
• Robert Ross on acoustic guitar
• Hal Blaine on drums
• Larry Muhoberac on keyboards
• Josephine Dapar on backing vocals

Cover

• Art direction: John Hoernle
• Design: Roy Kohara

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born April 22, 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas; began as a session guitarist in Los Angeles from 1960.
• Joined the studio group later known as The Wrecking Crew and played on recordings by many major artists.

Career

• Began a solo career in 1961; breakthrough hits included "Gentle on My Mind", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", and "Wichita Lineman" in 1967–1968.
• Hosted The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS from 1969 to 1972.
• Released 64 albums across five decades and sold over 45 million records worldwide.
• Hit "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights" in the mid-1970s were both US number one songs.
• Won four Grammys in 1967 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

Personal and final years

• Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011; retired in 2013 after recording his final song.
• Died August 8, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 81.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released in 1973 as Glen Campbell's 24th album
• Ten tracks, five on each side
• Side one opens with the title track, written by Neal Hefti and Seymore Styne
• Side one includes Bob Dylan's 'If Not for You'
• Side one includes Kinky Friedman's 'Sold American'
• Side one includes Lefty Frizzell's 'I Want to Be with You Always'
• Side two includes John Newton's 'Amazing Grace', at 4:24 the longest track on the album
• Side two includes Ted Hamilton's 'On This Road' and Ian Tyson's 'Someday Soon', which closes the album
• The album entered Billboard's Album chart in June 1973

Reappraisal

• No critical reviews of this album are recorded here
• The album's critical reception is not described in the available material

Records

• Billboard Album chart peak: number 154
• Time on the Billboard Album chart: six weeks
• The chart section lists Billboard singles data, but no singles positions are given

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Campbell's credits on this album include bagpipes alongside vocals and several guitars.
• The title track was written by Neal Hefti and Seymore Styne rather than by Campbell.
• Side one includes Bob Dylan's 'If Not for You', one of several songs by outside writers.
• Side two opens with Bill C. Graham's 'Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling'.
• The track list is credited to the album's songwriters, so the record is built largely from other writers' songs.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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